Evaluating item response theory linking and model fit for data from PISA 2000–2012

ABSTRACT

Based on concerns about the item response theory (IRT) linking approach used in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) until 2012 as well as the desire to include new, more complex, interactive items with the introduction of computer-based assessments, alternative IRT linking methods were implemented in the 2015 PISA round. The new linking method represents a concurrent calibration using all available data, enabling us to find item parameters that maximize fit across all groups and allowing us to investigate measurement invariance across groups. Apart from the Rasch model that historically has been used in PISA operational analyses, we compared our method against more general IRT models that can incorporate item-by-country interactions. The results suggest that our proposed method holds promise not only to provide a strong linkage across countries and cycles but also to serve as a tool for investigating measurement invariance.     

Technology Knowledge and Use: A Survey of Science Educators

The purpose of this study was to determine the current state of technology use and know-how among members of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science. A web-based survey site and an e-mail merge invited members to participate in the study. The survey examined the differences between current and desired levels of knowledge about using technology as an instructional tool, to support research, to enhance productivity in classroom applications, and to enhance data collection and analysis. Large mean differences about using technology as an instructional tool were found, including: (1) teaching students at a distance, (2) database applications, and (3) desktop publishing. Small mean differences were found for telecommunications and word processing.     

Dyslexia quotient: An index of reading ability

Summary A new index for expressing degree of reading disability in children is presented. Called the Dyslexia Quotient (D. Q.), it has the advantages of being simple to calculate and of being expressed in round numbers. Standardization of this new index is presented. In addition, the use of the Dyslexia Quotient in 50 patients who completed intensive dyslexia therapy is presented. An age-improvement distribution diagram, using the D. Q. is given. The authors suggest that the Dyslexia Quotient offers a valuable universal means of indicating degree of reading disability at any grade or age level.     

School Work,Homework and Gender

This paper explores female and male students' attitudes towards school work in terms of application and achievement. The data are drawn from interviews with students, teachers, careers officers and welfare officers in three semi‐rural comprehensive schools in one local education authority (LEA) [1]. (The students were in their last year of compulsory schooling, Year 11, and were aged 16 [2].) The three schools had invited the authors to explore why boys were achieving below their potential in terms of course work and end of course grades. The findings of the study show how school, peer group and community factors influence students' attitudes towards school work and homework. However, the situation is not just one of boys' under‐performance: the pattern of girls' achievement at 16 (the school leaving age) is not always carried through post‐16 or into career destinations. The problem is one of ‘equalising opportunities’ for all young people, taking into account the different patterns of need at different stages in their school careers.     

Differences in Career Aspirations,Influences, and Motives as a Function of Class Standing: An Empirical Evaluation of Undergraduate Criminal Justice Majors

The purpose of this study was to determine whether career aspirations, influences, and motives differ by class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). A cross-sectional analysis of surveys completed by 204 criminal justice majors revealed a negative correlation between class standing and student interest in a law enforcement career (i.e. freshman and sophomores showed greater interest in a law enforcement career than juniors and seniors). Further analysis indicated that television and movies had a greater impact on the career aspirations of underclassmen, whereas teachers and professors had a greater impact on the career aspirations of upperclassmen. Motivational factors did not differ by class standing, however: students, regardless of class standing, reported that helping others and the interesting nature of the subject matter were their two strongest motives for seeking a criminal justice career and wearing a uniform and power were the two weakest motives for seeking a criminal justice career.     

Building Context: Using Activity Theory to Teach About Genre in Multi-Major Professional Communication Courses

Instructors in multi-major professional communication courses are asked to teach students a variety of workplace genres. However, teaching genres apart from their contexts may not result in transfer of knowledge from school to workplace settings. We propose teaching students to research genre use via activity theory as a way of encouraging transfer. We outline theory and research relevant to teaching genre and provide results from a study using activity theory to teach genre in two different professional communication courses.     

The development of flexibility in equation solving

This paper explores the development of students’ knowledge of mathematical procedures. Students’ tendency to develop rote knowledge of procedures has been widely commented on. An alternative, more flexible endpoint for the development of procedural knowledge is explored here, where students choose to deviate from established solving patterns on particular problems for greater efficiency. Students with no prior knowledge of formal linear equation solving techniques were taught the basic transformations of this domain. After instruction, students engaged in problem-solving sessions in two conditions. Treatment students completed the “alternative ordering task,” where they were asked to re-solve a previously completed problem but using a different ordering of transformations. Those completing alternative ordering tasks demonstrated greater flexibility.     

The design and development of the dragoon intelligent tutoring system for model construction: lessons learned

This paper describes Dragoon, a simple intelligent tutoring system which teaches the construction of models of dynamic systems. Modelling is one of seven practices dictated in two new sets of educational standards in the U.S.A., and Dragoon is one of the first systems for teaching model construction for dynamic systems. Dragoon can be classified as a step-based tutoring system that uses example-tracing, an explicit pedagogical policy and an open learner model. Dragoon can also be used for computer-supported collaborative learning, and provides tools for classroom orchestration. This paper describes the features, user interfaces, and architecture of Dragoon; compares and contrasts Dragoon with other intelligent tutoring systems; and presents a brief overview of formative and summative evaluations of Dragoon in both high school and college classes. Of four summative evaluations, three found that students who used Dragoon learned more about the target system than students who did equivalent work without Dragoon.